Buying shit you don't need

Calculate how much money you spend on stuff you need each month (Also include stuff like movies, books etc in this)
Ask someone you trust (parents, siblings etc) to open an account dedicated for you. Deposit all the rest of your funds to this account every month as soon as you get your income in your account.
I think this should do it, because youre not gonna ask your mom to wire you 10 euros to buy some ice cream right?

 

Well, if you dont have any income it is kind of hard to save for a Japan trip Im afraid.
The point I was trying make in my post is that you need a budget. You have some costs like rent etc that you have to pay and then you have some costs that perhaps arent necessary to survive, but is nice, these are the costs that you can decide on how high they should be.
The thing is though, that youre going to have to plan in advance

 

I wish I knew how to not spend money on stuff I don't need. Extra cash doesn't last long in my vicinity (somehow).
Lately, the strategy has been, 1. Receive paycheck. 2. Pay bills. 3. Buy food and gas. 4. There is nothing left.
This is much, much better than, 1. Receive paycheck. 2. Pay bills. 3. Oh Sh*t.
When "Oh Sh*t" has happened in the past, we got a nice reminder that tasty meat and fresh produce, bakery and dairy goods can be lived without.
That's NOT a good way to save money, just a perspective check.

So I would say, obtain some income and find ways to hide it from yourself, like having two accounts, one for your living expenses and another for savings. Try your best to avoid accumulating more debt. That's going to come back to bite you. But if you have no income of your own, that's going to make it really hard to make progress.

 

Leave all cards and cash at home when you go out, unless you intend to buy something specific. If you do, bring only the cash you need for it.

Always buy food in small bunches (e.g. daily) rather than in big loads. Bring nothing but a fiver or a tenner with you -- you figure how much you need. That's all you're allowed for the day.

The only time your cards leave the house are when you need them to get money from the bank. Trips to the bank are solo trips. Home-bank-home. Don't go anywhere laden with cash.

Always walk everywhere. If you can't carry it home, you've bought too much shit. Plus, if you know there's a walk ahead of you, you may reconsider going out at all.

 

Anne-Dauphine, the moment I start telling myself I have to be careful with money, and can't afford any luxuries, is the same day I will go out and buy an expensive item of clothing that I can't really justify.

The budget idea is awesome. If you can put a little money aside for treats, all the better. Psychologically, it takes a lot of mental effort to walk into Sainsburys thinking 'I can't have that, I can't have that, I can't have that'. Try walking into Sainsburys and thinking, on repeat: 'New York, Japan, debt-free, healthy body' and see if your purchases change.

 

What are you studying and are you almost done with it? And I would start looking for a part-time job now if I were you, don't wait until next year. 60k debt is massive and is only gonna be more and more the longer you wait with paying it off.

 

Hope it works for you.

Hey, you're almost at 170 days! That's amazing! Well done

 

Anne,

Start by reading the book "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason. It's been in print for years. you should be able to find a copy at your local library It's a short read. You can get through it in an afternoon. As for Sainsbury's (a supermarket?), there is a reason for everything they do. There is an actual science to it. Stay on the perimeter of the store. All the staples are on the outside walls. Vegetables, meat, dairy, etc are on the outside walls. Spend as little time in the middle aisles as possible. Also never go grocery shopping hungry. Just do an online search for shopping strategies or money saving shopping tips. As for clothing and all other extras that is just willpower. If you can't afford it, you don't buy it. Admittedly this is easier said the done. But this is how our parents and grandparents lived. Credit cards and predatory lending are fairly new phenomenons.

 

Hello Anne-Daphne

I believe that in life some principles exist, that you can use to your own advantage. And these principles apply to every area of life. One of these principles is the principle of limitation. It is one of the most wonderful things in this world because it gives you freedom. I know this sounds a little bit weird that limitation gives you freedom, but that really is the case - as long as it is self-limitation.

I'm sure you already have experienced this. Just think of nofap! Your limiting your self to not masturbate and what you get is the freedom of not having to think about fapping all the time. It gives you control over your life. That's the freedom i mean.
You can use this principle for everything you do. And you will notice that it will actually increase your freedom, despite the fact that limitating oneself sounds a bit frightening.
For example, I've been limitatin myself in several ways: I'm vegan, i stopped smoking, i don't fap, i don't trink alcohol and i'm really frugal - i spend much less than i earn and save a lot of money. And each of these limitations has made me more free. Free to live up to my own standards, not somebody elses. Free from the need of consumption.

The bottom line is - if you want to reduce your debts you will have to limitate yourself. But thats not a bad thing, not only will you reduce your liabilities, you will also gain a wonderful feeling of freedom. So don't be afraid. Limitation is great!

I learned a lot about the principle of limitation at the bauhaus university in weimar, where i took a summer school on design basics. And I can tell you now - limitation is also one of the most important principles when it comes to design and art. Working with little (for example using only black dots on white ground) will make you see how much possibilities you actually have, the freedom of creating great art with little.
I believe this was also one of the most important reasons why the Bauhaus movement became so strong and important. They had like nothing. They had hardly enough to eat. But they used the limitation for their advantage and became the most influential Art/Design-Movement of the 20th and 21st century.

and another thing: consider making your masters at a university without tuition fees. For example, here in austria studying is generaly free of charges for every Eu-citizen. And we have some good art universities, for example in vienna.

simplicity is another word for self-limitation. Check out zenhabits.net or other new age zen books/websites. They have a lot on this topic.

tl;dr limitate yourself! It will serve you in a great number of ways - most importantly - it will increase your freedom.

i hope this helped you a little

 

Sometimes we just spend money on things we don't need because we are feeling depressed and spending money makes us feel happier in a false way.
Until we get the credit card bill or realize we don't have any money.

 

I'm positive that everything's gonna work out for you just the way you want it to, as long as you stick to your marvelous attitude!

je parle un peu de français. je l'aprends parce que je veux faire un semestre erasmus à versailles! actually, i have a french exam tomorrow and haven't started learning yet. Any tips for me? Anyways, ça va marcher!

 

Money is all about financing, you have to plan it out. Sit down with yourself and calculate your income (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly whatever).
I use to buy a lot of useless expenses, from designer clothes, buying weed, and all that jazz! Haha, what I did to stop, I noted down every single dollar I used and after a good week, I really realized where all my money was going, and it motivated me to cut down on spending cash! It's all that simple stuff. What I would suggest you doing is writing a goal when you would need to pay back that 60k, and to fly you and your mom to Japan as well as living in New York! That's about what? 65-70g's?
Your goal would be when? Lets say 2-3 Years?
70/36 (36 months/3 years)
That'd be almost 2 grand a month!
P.S: Try putting a reasonable sum of your money in your savings every time you get money as well!

Anyways good luck on saving! It was a hassle for me! But we all learn overtime!! Money is infinite!

 

Oh! I find eating at home saves you a lot of money too, eating out actually takes a big chunk of everyones dollars!

 

I like this thread, its actually very relevant.

buying shit you don't need is in many ways synonymous with PMO. There was a quote about man being most happy in the moments before achieving a goal - its the anticipation of gaining something that drives us. When we covet a new car, we imagine what it would be like to own, to drive, to touch. As soon as we have it, we enjoy the mment then quickly move on to the next thing we covet, endlessly moving to a new desire.

If you realise that the joy comes from the desire to own something, you can get pleasure from the desire without needing to resolve it. This means you can covet that car for many years and hold on to your money until you can afford it, and in doing so actually get far more pleasure in the mean time. As soon as you have it, you quickly lose the source of that pleasure until a new shiny item takes its place. The same is true of your goals in life... enjoy the journey, not the destination.

PMO is like having an endless supply of money (or more accurately, an ever burgeoning debt crisis), buying toy after toy, each losing its appeal shortly after, forever chasing ephemeral pleasure but never quite feeling satisfied. Giving up PMO is like investing in yourself, like saving for your dreams, working hard and not taking the easy way out, ultimately gaining true lasting pleasure from your goals, achievements and attainments.